Updated at 10:11 p.m.

By Chris Teale and Erich Wagner (File photo)

Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg triumphed in the Democratic primary for Alexandria Mayor, according to unofficial poll results, defeating incumbent Bill Euille and former Mayor Kerry Donley. Mark Levine was also victorious in his race for the 45th District in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Silberberg finished with 5,044 votes,  37.54 percent, while Euille finished in a close second with 4,732, 35.22 percent. Donley came in third with 3,661 votes, 27.25 percent. In the House of Delegates race, Levine took 2,272 votes, 27.53 percent, with Craig Fifer in second with 2,022 (24.5 percent). Julie Jakopic came third with 1,888, 22.88 percent, while Clarence Tong finished fourth with 1,422 (17.23 percent), and Larry Altenburg  came fifth with 648 (7.85 percent).

As the tallies from the final precincts poured in, Silberberg’s supporters were uproarious with cheers at her Election Night party at Los Tios in Del Ray.

“I’m very honored to stand before you as the next mayor of Alexandria,” she told revelers. “I’ve said it time and again: I ran for my vision and not against my competitors. I think all of us honor their service.

“We want three things: Thoughtful, appropriate development. We need to focus on the city’s debt, which has grown exponentially over the past decade. And third, we must rebuild the people’s trust with more openness and transparency.”

Meanwhile, Levine was delighted to have fought off his four opponents for the Democratic nomination, something that he said owed much to a grassroots campaign.

“I’m ecstatic, I’m pleased,” he said. “It was all the people who came out to support me, going door to door. I’m so pleased that people listened and understand. It was going from living room to living room and talking in detail, not just about Medicare extension, raising the minimum wage, but how to do it, going through the details.

“People were willing to open their minds and their hearts and listen, this is a complete grassroots job, and that’s what makes it so beautiful. This is a victory for everyone in the 45th, this wasn’t ordered from up on high, this was from the grass up, and that’s what makes it so wonderful. I didn’t do this alone at all, I didn’t do half of this, all the people that helped me, I really appreciate it.”

The mood at Euille’s election night party was buoyant and confident, although it quickly turned sour as results began to trickle in. When all 28 precincts’ results were in, the disappointment was clear on the face of the three-term mayor as he came to the podium to address those present after an election defeat for the second time in two years.

“I’d like to thank the voters for their confidence in me, and coming out today to express themselves with their votes,” Euille told supporters. “Certainly while the outcome isn’t what we expected, that’s why we have a democratic process.

“The reality of it all is, we worked hard; we ran a very, very excellent campaign, we had a lot of broad-base support, but when you run in an election like this, particularly in a primary where people aren’t focused because there’s so much going on, the outcome in terms of the turnout was going to be very low.”

Donley thanked his supporters at the Alexandria Democratic Committee’s unity party at Red Rocks in Old Town and congratulated Silberberg.

“The great thing about Alexandria is we have a strong Democratic party that also does a good job of governing the city,” Donley said. “It may seem like a family food fight at times, but I’m a guy with five daughters: I’m used to a family food fight.

“We’re the Alexandria Democratic Committee. … The Democratic slate is complete, the Republican slate is complete. Let’s go at it.”

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Original post

Polls have closed, and now the votes will be counted in the Democratic primary elections for Alexandria’s mayor and the 45th District of the Virginia House of Delegates.

In the mayoral race, incumbent Bill Euille faces challenges from former Mayor Kerry Donley and Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg. In the 45th, five candidates — Larry Altenburg, Craig Fifer, Julie Jakopic, Mark Levine and Clarence Tong — are vying to fill the seat vacated by the retiring Rob Krupicka.

The city only does one turnout count — at noon — and at that time the city’s general registrar Anna Leider said that turnout was at approximately 7.96 percent citywide. Leider said a total of 899 people filed absentee ballots in person, while there were a total of 1,215 absentee voters.

The overall turnout number is slightly higher than the last mayoral primary in 2012, when Euille ran unopposed and turnout at noon was 7.1 percent citywide, with the total number of absentee ballots at approximately 700.

The Alexandria Democratic Committee is hosting a unity party at Red Rocks on 904 King St., where results will be revealed. The event is open to all.

Follow the Alexandria Times on Twitter @AlexTimesNews for up-to-the-minute updates on election results, and check the website for news and reactions from the candidates.